Tales of Reluctant Heroes
by sword-art-offline
Summary: Humanity has always had the urge to explore new territory, or conquer lands in hopes of uncovering secrets and wealth. But there are some things in the world that should just remain just that, a secret. (Set the heavens ablaze and let hell break lose to awaken the enigmas...) Genre's: Sci-fi/ Action-Adventure/ Mystery/ Suspense/ Dark Humor etc.
1. Prologue

**Prologue:**

Kadavo and Rizal are two nations located on the planet of Eotonae in the Fraxon belt of the Daragon Solar System. These two nations are home to a number of inhabitants. One of them being called man, a rather cunning species, a species that used their knowledge to become the highest ranking beings on their planets.

But like philosophers have once said. "With every leap and bound in culture the ground will shake; but with that, ripples are bound to occur, and those ripples are the results of war, hunger, disease and death." Man may have brought himself to greatness but it always comes at a price.

Peace is what everything longs for, but peace is only one side of the coin. Violence is also needed to remind the world, that peace has to be fought and earned by the blood of those who choose to stand up and raise up arms against the forces of evil, they are the ones who will lead humans into a new era of stability.

For when peace is in the hearts of men, he does not think of the danger that could be lurking around the corner ready to devour him when he is not looking. Because danger always seems to strike when we least expect it.

This so was the case in the matter of the relationship between the two nations, as both were rich from precious metals and other materials.

Of course the natural thing to do, was to open trade routes when both government found an agreement on the matter. And after trading for many years life seemed good, business was booming on each continent and everyone seemed happy.

Unfortunately human greed is and has always been one of the ways in which business deals or peace treaties fall apart, and this was no exception.

For you see, the government of Rizal needed plasnium a type of ore that has special properties. One of them being, when melted down and applied to an object it can create a slight zero-g area making the object virtually weightless. This was a needed material for their weapons research community.

Kadavo however also needed plasnium, which they decided to use for medical purposes, but also for many applications, like weapons.

With this unofficial weapons race, the tension between both nations grew and only a little thing was needed to set off the ticking bomb...


	2. Tears for a Cruel World

**Tales of Reluctant Heroes**

_Set the heavens ablaze and let hell break loose to awaken the enigmas…_

**Chapter 1-**_The price of war…is to lose something precious._

"_Nature, or more specifically the human race, has always had the urge to find and discover new places and objects, whether there beneficial to man is something that is sometimes overlooked in the bid for satiating their curiosity for adventure._

_Alas, as history has proven man has never been able to completely satisfy their urge; which has led to years of famines, floods, droughts, and poverty. But above all, war has taken the precedent in history's ever-expanding timeline._

_Man has always had the urge to not only expand their territory but to conquer foreign lands in the hope of finding treasure or wealth. However, this urge is one of mankind's greatest gifts and its greatest curse to not be taken lightly."_

Satomi Kenji looked up from the history text he was reading when he reached the place his teacher had told him to stop at.

"Very good. Now, can anyone tell me one thing on this planet that has made us prosperous?" The teacher looked at her class with a curious look in her eyes.

All of the students in the class raised their hands, save a young woman who was sitting in the back. She kept her gaze neutral and her mouth shut in a pursed line; she was known to not talk at all unless she had to answer a question or the situation called for her to speak. In general, the class accepted her for who she was and respected that she wanted to have her isolation. She seemed to greatly appreciate this, although no one heard it directly from her mouth.

The silent young woman looked at the class full of students and pondered what answer they were going to say if the teacher picked them.

As the teacher was deciding on which student to choose, her gaze fell on a young man sitting in the row farthest to her left and three seats back.

"Kruger, could you tell the class what you believe makes our planet rich?" The dirty blonde haired male sighed. The only reason he raised his hand was so that he could blend into the class easier, because had he kept his hand lowered the chances of being chosen were much higher. But fate seemed to enjoy tampering with his overall plans. He slowly stood up from his desk.

"Hmm... Well, the thing that makes our _prosperous planet_ so amazing would be the mineral plasnium which our ancestors had discovered a few thousand years back." His voice, dripping with sarcasm, complemented his hand gestures.

Some of the rebellious students in the class snickered at how sassy he was when he spoke to the teacher. Needless to say, Kenji was not one of them who joined in the act of hushed laughter.

"Yes, that is correct. Thank you for your answer," the teacher signed in response. Kruger shrugged before sitting back down.

A brief glance at the clock revealed that class was almost over. Nobody minded history class, due to Ms. Rachel being very considerate and kind to her students. Also, none of the males in the class seemed to mind that she was rather easy to look at.

She looked at her wrist Chrono. A Chrono is a futuristic wristwatch. "Well then, it seems that class is over. I would like section three, pages seventeen through twenty-nine read by tomorrow. We will be going over our relationship with our neighboring country Rizal. Have a wonderful lunch everyone." She then gathered her teaching material before proceeding out of the room.

Kenji leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes only for his right shoulder to be tapped lightly. He opened his eyes to see Takamura Haruka, one of his childhood friends, and dare he think it, his first love interest standing next to his desk.

"Hey there, Haruka." He said as he unconsciously straightened his posture.

"Hey there, yourself…?" She paused. "What's with you today? You seem to be spacing out lately... is everything okay?" Her voice was filled with concern. He smiled before shaking his head. "No, I'm fine. Guess I haven't been getting enough sleep lately, which would be my own stupid fault." Kenji twisted his mouth into a half-smile. What he didn't know was that Haruka absolutely adored his half-smile.

Of course, she'd never let him know that. "Hmm, if that's what's really going on... then I guess it's okay." He raised an eyebrow and leaned forward, waggling his index finger. "Are you saying that you don't trust me?" Noticing his teasing tone, she grinned. "Please, _baka._ I trust you with my life." She said after a short pause. Since the school forbade the speaking of any language except for basic Estonian, Kenji and Haruka however, occasionally used their favorite words in their native language, it was a dialect that was taught and handed down throughout their families, until it was taught to them. Curiously enough they nor their family knew where its root's came from.

"Okay, you two. Get a room before I decide to lose my appetite." They both looked over to see a young man holding a briefcase over his shoulder leisurely making his way over.

"Hey, man. How was your quantum physics class?" Kenji asked his genius of a friend. Recently Andrew, his friend, took an IQ test out of sheer boredom. Andrew surpassed the highest-ranking-IQ in the world, which was a confirmed 230. He scored a 250, which made him about 56% smarter than the average genius, which is a measly 140.

"Funny you should ask, it seems the correlation between plasnium and body fluids will offer a major scientific advancement. However, we aren't sure what body fluid we'd use in an experiment, though. " Haruka choked on her food, spitting out pieces of rice ball. "Please, I'm eating, could you bastards save the biology lesson for later." Both Andrew and Kenji laughed.

"It's not funny. Seriously, some of the things you guys talk about is gross." She stuck her tongue out to prove her point.

"Well... we are guys, so need we say more?" Kenji smirked. Andrew chuckled at his quick response. Haruka merely sighed. "Nope, no explanation needed. Seeing how we've known each other for so long, I guess I'll have to take your word for it."

Kenji decided to change the subject. With a cough, he said "I hear your parents got positions in the new factory some big company recently opened. Have they spoken anything to you about it?" He asked his male partner in crime.

Andrew's mouth was a straight line, along with his eyes. "Real smooth, Kenj. Real smooth."

Kenji did a half-smirk before gesturing to Andrew to answer his question.

Andrew sighed before starting his explanation. "Well to answer your 'question' my parents have started working at Bio-Luxeon on a new project started by the government to see if we can unlock the secrets behind the properties of plasnium." Kenji raised an eyebrow, only for Andrew to shrug. "Anyway they hope to find something useful out of this research but frankly I don't like it one bit."

Kenji paused from taking his next bite to ask. "And why is that?"

"Well it's just that...Oh I don't know, experimenting on something that has just been discovered seems really dangerous in my opinion but I guess my parents know what they are doing." Haruka who had stayed silent so far, noticed the anxiety on her friends face.

"Seriously man don't worry so much, it's not like there aren't any safety measures in place, and besides you know as well as I do that most if not all the system's being used has been designed by my parents, they wouldn't patent a defective system." Kenji patted his best friend on the shoulder.

Andrew smiled. "Yeah man you're right I shouldn't worry about my parents so much." He lowered his head and exhaled through his nose. "Maybe this is why I'm called a 'mama's boy' by everyone." He laughed dryly.

Haruka stood up from her desk. "Hey now, nobody's calling you a mama's boy so don't be like that." She paused. "Maybe a nerd but that's beside the point." Andrew looked up at her.

"Wow thanks for the prep talk really inspiring." He said in a deadpan voice.

Now Haruka and Kenji shared a laugh together at their friend's cost.

Kenji stopped laughing. "Sorry, but seriously if anything being called a nerd is another word for genius which you are so." He left his statement unfinished. You see Kenji wasn't the best person to turn to if you wanted to be comforted, that was more Haruka's forte and which is why they both complimented each other nicely.

Andrew smiled, he knew Kenji long enough that he understood that what his friend said was his way of comforting him.

"Well boys this drama has been entertaining and all but shouldn't we talk about more happy stuff like how we'll always be together." Haruka said with a hint of sarcasm in her voice, needless to say the statement she said would be put to the test before days end.

Both the boys gave her an amused look before deciding mentally to change the subject, because she indirectly asked them too.

"Alright fine, but that doesn't mean I won't stop thinking about it." Andrew said before dropping the subject. Haruka smiled.

The three of them chatted for a while before the bell rang signaling the end of lunch period and the start of a new class.

"Well then guess I'll be going, can't be late for punctuation and grammar class!" Andrew said with fake enthusiasm. He stood up and walked out of the room leaving his two best friends behind.

"Hmm I wonder why he doesn't like that class, it's not like having an A+ is a bad grade." Kenji shook his head at his friend's attitude. Haruka shrugged before returning to her desk.

The teacher walked in and class started.

**(30 minutes later in an undisclosed location in the Bio-Luxeon laboratory) **

"Sir the core is overheating!" A young technician said with a frantic tone.

The scientist who was in charge of this division was none other than Andrew's father Mr. Maguire.

"Overcharge the reactor! Let's try to kill it by surging it with too much energy!" He yelled to the people who he was in charge of.

Everyone started to bustle around trying to undo what they started. But it was in vain, the experiment to combine plasnium and chemical's had failed. But the real reason was, why did every single precaution taken to avoid something like this still make the reactor go haywire, something wasn't right.

Mr. Maguire after quickly thinking over why the experiment failed, looked over to his long time wife and companion and felt tears come to his eyes. She looked over at her husband and smiled. They both stared at each other and at the same time felt a certain peace in their hearts. For you see when they first got married they both promised that they would be together until 'death do them part' and that is where they found peace, they would die together, of course leaving there only son would be painful but it couldn't be helped.

Mr. Maguire lifted his holo-device and quickly sent something to his son's email and after a short pause he sent another email to his son's best friend Satomi Kenji with an attachment.

Time was up.

**(Back at the School)**

"And this is how…" The teacher stopped mid-sentence by a massive explosion heard outside the class windows. Everyone looked out to see a huge cloud of fire and smoke coming from the new facility of Bio-Luxeon, at the same time explosions throughout the area surrounding the compound were seen causing a chain reaction of death and destruction. As the fires raged, the ground started to shake and everyone in the class was terrified about what was happening. Then a massive explosion ripped through the faculty and an electrical wave spread out setting fire to anything it touched.

Everyone in the classroom started to dive for cover underneath their desk, even though the act wouldn't do much for them.

Just as the wave started to engulf their school, the windows on the classroom shattered bringing in debris, death, and pieces of once living things.

Kenji not seeing the point of hiding just laid flat on the floor to avoid the incoming carnage.

As soon as the electrically wave hit the school, the screams of people being cooked alive could be heard, and when it passed through Kenji's classroom he felt an excruciating pain all over his body, it felt as if his insides were being boiled inside out.

Soon thereafter the wave passed on and later died, but not before swathing a path of destruction in its wake leaving the once gleaming city of New Haven was now mostly in ruins.

After the pain was not as bad, Kenji started to crawl over to where he last Haruka before the wave hit, but when he got there his worst fears were realized, his best friend and crush was lying face down underneath her desk with smoke wisping from her body.

"H-Haruka?" He gently shook her shoulder. "Haruka!" He was now starting to feel the panic raise inside himself. Sadly she didn't move or respond to his calling, but he wouldn't give up, after feeling for a pulse and finding none he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers and started to do CPR in the hopes of bringing her back, but as time went on the chances of her coming back were thinning until finally.

(Cough-Cough-Cough) Haruka coughed doggedly before slowly opening her eyes. Kenji felt tears well in his eyes only for him to hold them back so that she wouldn't worry.

"Hey how are you doing?" Kenji asked softly. She managed a weak smile. "Just peachy." He smiled at her attempt at humor.

"Everything's fine just rest I'll be right here." She closed her eyes. "No, go check and see if Andrew's alright he must have gone through the same pain we felt." Kenji had a doubting look in his eyes. She opened her eyes and reached up to stroke his cheek. "Go." was all she said before she closed her eyes again. He nodded even though she didn't see him do it.

He laid her down gently before standing up and looking out the window.

The entire city seemed to be in flames, included with that was the sounds of fire sirens and people yelling which he could hear from where he stood. He looked down at the peaceful face of Haruka before slowly walking out of the classroom.

"_I have to get to Andrew's class and see if he's alright." _Despite the urgency of checking on his friend the pain from earlier was still affecting him and it was hard to walk. But that pain was nothing compared to when he walked into his friends classroom only to find it mostly destroyed and in ruins. He scanned the room only to find Andrew leaning against a wall with blood slowly forming around his sitting body.

"Andrew!" Kenji hobbled over to his gravely injured friend.

"H-hey man that shit was rough huh." Andrew said before coughing up blood which dribbled out of his mouth. Kenji grabbed onto his friends bloody hand and gripped hard.

"Come on let's get you out of here, we'll get you to a hospital." Kenji said with a fake optimistic tone. But both knew that wasn't going to happen.

"No it's fine I have accepted what's about to happen to me, besides with that first explosion my parents definitely died so I have no one." Kenji grabbed his friends face. "You have me and Haruka, you won't be alone." Andrew's time was near. "Heh how is she." He said with a pained voice.

"She's fine I left her to find you by her request, so let's go and see her together." Kenji now was teary eyed.

In a sudden surprise of physical and mental strength Andrew grabbed his best friend's shirt.

"Protect her from harm do you understand! Please do it for me." Andrew's hands then slowly slipped off Kenji's shoulders. "Don't let her die." Andrew said with a pained voice. He smiled. "G-guess we w-won't always be together." As he finished his statement Kenji felt Andrews grip loosen and his friend stopped breathing. Kenji lowered his head and cried silently.

After mourning for his friend for what seemed like a long time, a group of paramedics and people walked into the room searching for survivors and when they saw how most of the bodies were badly mangled a common look of horror was on their faces. Two of the paramedics came over to where Kenji still held his best friends bloody hand and asked if he was okay, all he able to do was nod his head.

"_Why, why is this happening? Why did this happen?" _Kenji was in a state of shock the only thing that snapped him out of his daze was the hand shaking his shoulder and the thought of how Haruka was doing.

"I-I'm okay, please take good care of my friend, I have to go check on my other classmates." Kenji then slowly stood up even though standing seemed to be harder than it should be. He slowly shuffled out of the room but not before looking back at his friend one more time. Had he looked back a second longer he would have seen his friends finger twitch.

"I have to check on Haruka and see if she's taking it easy like she should be." But as Kenji walked around the corner he saw what he most dreaded, Haruka was on an ambulance bed being wheeled out of them room.

"Haruka!" He made his way over to her as fast as he could.

"Sir do you know this girl?" One of the paramedics who was pushing her bed asked.

"Yes she's my classmate, is she alright?!" He said with a worried tone, he didn't want to lose another person whom he held dear.

"She seems to be paralyzed from the waist down, but besides some minor injuries she completely fine rest assured." Kenji heaved a sigh of relief. At least something good happened.

But that feeling was short lived.

**(In an undisclosed location)**

A person was leaning over a table and looking at the scenes displayed on the monitor. "Hmm seems like everything went according to plan, the nation of Kadavo is in a state of shock, the terrorist attack caught the nation off guard, I don't believe there's going to be much of a retaliation because of my weapons and my research."

The person simply smiled.

* * *

><p><strong>(Authors Note)<strong>

And that concludes the first chapter...second one is still being written. This an original story that was thought of by me and a fellow writer (The Slain Executioner) so updates may vary depending on how long it takes to write the next chapter, and to you the reader of how much you want the next part.

Also leave a comment in the section below, or send me a pm about a suggestion, idea, or thoughts about this story. I do know how the general story line is going to pan out, but I'm willing to change the story a bit if I get some suggestions too.

**(Character Profiles) A.N-Will be modified and added too as the story progresses and new characters appear.  
><strong>

**Satomi Kenji:**

**Hair Color: Black.**

**Eye Color: Dark Blue.**

**Height: Average build-but thin. 177 cm. **

**Character: A rather quiet person only talks when needed to or when friends are around.**

**Skills: Strategist/ Logical person never goes in without a plan/ a leader when needed.**

**Status: Alive.**

**Takamura Haruka:**

**Hair Color: Dark Dirty Black/Brown. **

**Eye Color: Dark Aqua. **

**Height: 169 cm.**

**Character: A happy, friendly young woman who is friends with almost everybody in the school, but mainly hangs out with her two best friends.**

**Skills: A good listener/Advisor. Good at cooking and knitting.**

**Status: Alive.**

**Andrew Maguire:**

**Hair Color: Brown.**

**Eye Color: Dark Green.**

**Height: 179 cm.**

**Character: A smart person rather he is a genius who was discovered by accident when he took an IQ test because he was bored and was found to be smarter than the average person.**

**Skills: A good friend who happens to be very good with the ladies.**

**Status: Deceased.**


	3. Bittersweet Awakening

**Tales of Reluctant Heroes**

_When hope seems none-existent, there is inevitable a way to escape..._

**Chapter 2: **_War can be used as negotiations or a means to an end, whether the end be favorable or not is a part of man's history._

Kenji stopped reading the book in his hand, and a slight snort escaped from his nostrils. "Whoever wrote this must not have experienced what we had to go through. Heh. Misinformed bastards." He then looked over at his childhood friend Takamura Haruka lying in a hospital bed. His face morphed into a bitter smile. "I couldn't protect you entirely from harm, and I'm so sorry." Kenji struggled, then stood up from the chair that was right next to the bed and turned around before leaving the room to go the cafeteria.

'_Guess I'll grab some food before going back and checking in on Haruka.' _Now, Kenji would never admit it, but after losing one of his best friends he was extremely worried about his last remaining childhood friend, and that he was somewhat in love with her also played a part with his game of worriedness.

As Kenji walked down the hallway that lead to one of the hospitals cafeterias, he glanced out of the window and saw the once beautiful, illustrious city of New Haven in near destruction. But what was truly sad was the fact of how quickly the public had decided to resort to violence.

And with that an explanation is in order, for you see, after the first explosion of the research faculty, the surrounding area around said facility was obliterated and now in a complete state of ruin, or 'shit' as Kenji liked to say. The shock of the sonic wave that came from the explosion of the factory produced a burst of death and destruction ultimately led to over five thousand unlucky souls being led to their early demise, and another thousand or more died later because of the injuries they had sustained from the explosion.

When the chaos started to quiet down, the government of Kadavo started an investigation to see if the accident that started the halo-wrecker was actually an accident or by some means an act of terrorism made by someone or something. But after the government couldn't find any hard evidence pointing to one specific cause, they decided to expand their search to off-continent, which meant that the nation of Rizal was placed on the cutting block and asked if they had anything to do with it.

Of course the country of Rizal, or more specifically the government of Rizal stated that they had absolutely nothing to do with the explosion, and to show their support in the matter, they would also investigate to see if anyone was responsible on their side for the trouble that was caused on Kadavo. But alike Kadavo, they could not find anything and the investigation was dropped after a few weeks. Of course the citizens of Kadavo didn't like the fact that they couldn't blame someone for the carnage and deaths of their loved ones, so they started to take matters into their own hands.

That didn't end very well when some Kadavo citizens got too vocal and physical which resulted in riots breaking out between the public and the government. Unfortunately, after a short time, an agreement was reached by the public that Rizal had to have some hand in the demise of the research faculty, which in turn made tension rise between the two countries. Still, an uneasy peace finally began to settle over the nation of Kadavo.

But when things seem calm, most likely it is the eye of the storm, and shit is about to hit the stratosphere, since a fan would be much too shallow. In this case, though it wouldn't be flying up.

The shit would be pile-driving down, hard. Much harder than anyone could expect.

Kenji continued to walk down the now-crowded and bustling hallway that was filled with patients and civilians alike, some visiting their loved ones, and some giving their last farewells, before their souls were lost in the gap named eternity. Not wanting to think what would happen if he lost Haruka, he hastened his pace until he finally reached the cafeteria.

When he entered the cafeteria he walked over to where you could order your food and picked out something that Haruka would like to eat. There were some perks knowing your friends' taste because of living so close to them for so long.

After he paid for the food, he left the cafeteria and started his white-washed-walls-filled journey back to his friend's room. But as he was walking, he noticed something from the corner of his peripheral vision and turned his head to see black dots on the horizon swiftly approaching, judging by how big they were getting in a short period of time.

This scene would be burned into his memory for a long time, because as soon as the dots crossed the city limits of New Haven the ground shook violently from the explosions caused by the photon bombs being dropped from the now-clear Rizalion bombers. The city quickly flew into a state of panic.

Fortunately, after a short period of time some resistance was sent up to stop the attack, but unfortunately all the escort fighters that were protecting the bombers quickly decimated and destroyed all resistance that was sent up. Soon, nothing and no one stood in the way of the carnage that was being bestowed upon the now burning city of New Haven.

The bustling hospital was now in a state of panic. People where running into each other, violently shoving each other aside in a frantic bid to find shelter. It was every person for themselves, not matter how old you where or gender.

Kenji began to push his way through the sea of the terrified mob attempting in vain to make his way back to his best friend's room. And after what seemed like an eternity he finally reached the room that treated his injured friend.

"Haruka!" He burst into the room to find his childhood friend awake and sitting straight up looking out the window. "We have to get you to safety! Come on, let's go, lazy butt!" he ran to her side, only to find her eyes in a state of shock seeing the carnage happening outside. Not that he blamed her for it but time was of the essence and he had to get her to safety.

"Come on, snap the hell out of it we have to go!" He shook his friend trying to bring her to her senses, but she just sat there with a terrified, dazed look; it was only after a couple of seconds that she slowly turned her head to look up to find a familiar face looking down at her.

"K-Kenji?" She said as her vision started to focus again. "What's going on?" He sighed.

"I'm sorry… but we don't have time for this. I'll tell you when I know what's going on." He then put his left arm around her shoulders and his right arm underneath her legs before lifting her out of the bed. He smirked. "Have you been gaining weight?" He chuckled. She frowned.

"Kidding… let's get out of this place." He then jogged over to the door and after waiting for a big group of people to pass briskly started to walk to the stairs that gained access to the roof.

"Do you trust me?" he asked before he opened to the door. She nodded even though he couldn't see her do it. "Yes… I do." Kenji performed an 'affirmative' nod before opening the door and starting the journey up to the roof. "Everyone is in a state of panic and trying to get out of the nearest exit, which means that they will be packed with panicked people. Our best bet is to go to the roof and hurry down the emergency ladder on the side of the building," he said with conviction in his voice. Haruka knew that Kenji was a logical person, and therefore didn't doubt his logic.

"Alright… let's hope nobody else had the same thought." She tightened her grip on his shoulders.

After a couple of minutes of shaking walls and falling dust particles they were almost to the top when the force of a bomb exploding near or on the hospital shook the stairwell rather violently.

"Gah!" A piece of ceiling grazed Kenji's forehead leaving a nasty gash on his forehead. Blood immediately began to gush from his head wound. A few particles of blood dripped onto Haruka's hospital gown. She frowned, knowing he would be all right in the end.

"Idiot. I even liked this gown, too," she muttered jokingly. Mentally, she added, _"You sexy beast." _

He growled. "Well, I'm sorry for soiling your gown, princess of the wounded," he sarcastically replied. But the pain got to him, and eventually, he began to flinch whenever he moved from the gash.

Haruka tried to be helpful by ripping off her arm sleeve and tying it around his forehead to help stop the bleeding and to have something to do as she was being carried to safety.

"We made it!" Kenji nodded his head in the direction of the doorway that lead to the roof. Haruka paused in her administrations to see that they were indeed at the doorway to what was hopefully safety.

Kenji balanced Haruka in his arms before opening the door, but while the rooftop was empty, what met their gazes was the undeniable stench of death's talon over the city.

"What a disaster," Kenji said as he made his way over to the stairway that lead down the side of building. But what really got to both of them was the bloodcurdling scream of a young child in agonizing pain echo over the carnage.

"That poor kid," Haruka said with pain in her voice. Kenji just closed his eyes for a split second before opening them again and looking down at a scared young woman who was slightly shaking in his arms.

"Haruka… I'm going to have to set you down for second, I am going to have to use both of my hands for climbing down the stairs so you will have to hang onto my back." Haruka nodded as Kenji gently set her down on the ground. Pausing only for a split second to tend to his head wound, he motioned for her to mount his back.

"Alright, grab onto my shoulders." He faced away from her so that his back was right in reach of her arms. She tightly grabbed ahold of his shoulders, which he then stood up and grabbed a hold of the ladder railing and swung himself over and down the first rung. She emitted a little yelp in surprise at the sudden movement.

"Hold onto me," Kenji warned his passenger before climbing steadily down the rungs of the ladder. But they were only about halfway down when a Kadavian military chopper flew overhead and then exploded when a rocket blew it into oblivion. Debris rained down on both of the young adults, and unfortunately for Haruka, part of her hospital gown caught fire as well.

"Gah…"

"Haruka! Your princesses' gown is on fire!" Kenji said, not worrying one bit about the fact that a nasty burn had been inflicted on his left arm. Haruka quickly but carefully extinguished the fire and grabbed onto Kenji's shoulders rather forcefully. He suppressed the urge to 'pat out' the fire residing on her buttocks.

"Was that really necessary?" Kenji muttered in a slightly confused tone. Haruka grinned, despite her newly acquired injury. "Well, I don't want to fall now, do I?" Kenji sighed before resuming to climb down the ladder. When they reached the bottom, Kenji turned his head slightly to address his friend.

"Well. Do you want to stay on my back or would you rather I hold you in my arms again?" Haruka put her chin on his shoulder. "I feel rather comfortable back here, so I'll stay on your back." Kenji gave a short nod before looking about the alleyway that they were standing in.

Secretly, despite his body already exerted, he wished he could hold her again.

"Considering what's going on, I think our best bet would be an underground transportation system, but most likely, it will be packed with other people who had the same idea." Haruka thought about what he said before saying. "Why not try to find a safe room in the ground floor of the hospital?" Kenji agreed with what she said, but didn't know where the entrance to said place was.

"I think we'll have to circle around and go to the main entrance," Kenji stated then started to walk out of the alleyway, but right before they left, the ground began to rumble.

"What the hell is that?" Haruka asked.

Her question was soon answered when a group of Kadavian military forces and moving armored vehicles passed by the alleyway that Kenji and Haruka were now in.

"Let's hope the military can stop this onslaught," Kenji muttered. He then felt his shoulder being tapped.

"Kenji… look." Haruka pointed to a door that led into the hospital that wasn't the main entrance.

"Perfect." Kenji said before walking over and attempting to see if the door would open. Fortunately, it did open and the two went inside only to find bodies strewn about and mangled from a bomb's shockwave that had exploded in the hospital entrance.

"That's probably what we felt in the stairwell," Kenji said, trying not to think about the remains of what were humans once. Living, breathing souls the same as them.

However, Kenji and Haruka were not weak. They were fighters; champions of life, soldiers of living spirit.

"Come now, let's go." He started to walk past the wreckage and looked around for a map to show how to get to the basement.

Kenji hefted her in his arms, and she squealed, half of delight, half of shock. "Goddamn. You get heavy after a while," he stated with the slightest of grins on his face covered in cinders and ashes.

With an obscene gesture, Haruka simply pointed towards a hallway full of corpses of the dead who had struggled for their lives when the explosion hit. "Go there, Kenji's Taxi Service."

His mouth a pursed line; his eyes half closed, he muttered, "I can drop you any time I want to like my music does."

Tightly clinging to his neck, she giggled. "Oh you. Calm down, will you? Anyway, we should find shelter in a room that isn't completely dead."

Kenji nodded. "Could we avoid the corpses, by any chance?" _"It's like their having a party. One where the lame guy walked in and killed it," _the darker side of his mind muttered.

"Not unless you want us to be in the open," Haruka replied.

"You're right. Let's go," Kenji said and set off down the hallway of the dead. He noticed Haruka tightly close her eyes. His heart cried out in sympathy, although he kept his facial region from revealing said emotion.

The young man glanced at a billboard and sighed. It advertised a meeting of the hospital patients for a bingo session. Those days of bliss and ignorance were long over, now forcing the few survivors to face a harsh enemy named reality. In his distraction, he stumbled over the leg of a corpse. An all-too-familiar corpse.

"Watch where you're go-ing…' Haruka whispered and stopped mid-sentence. To the couple's horror, the blank, wiped face of a fellow classmate glared back at them with voids as eyes.

Simultaneously, Kenji and Haruka whispered, "Stevenson…? Ryan…? No…" The dead eyes of their classmate stared back at them. Formerly dubbed "the Fox" of the basketball court, due to his quickness and trickery, no longer would he dominate the courts as he once did.

"Quite a nice fellow, he was surprisingly shy and usually kept to himself," Haruka smiled sadly.

Kenji's dark mind whispered to himself, _"Well, that's an extreme way to remove a player from the court." _Shaking his thoughts away, he solemnly closed the deceased boy's eyes with a gentle brush of his hand.

"I swear to god, the Pearly Gates better have a basketball court for the Fox," Kenji gloomily stated. Haruka managed to smile, despite the mutual sadness overtaking both of them. They stared at their deceased classmate for a few seconds before a huge explosion shook the building, reminding them of their situation.

Turning, Kenji reluctantly said, "Let's move on... find a safe room to rest in."

Haruka nodded, unable to speak as her mind struggled to comprehend the fact that this boy was living and breathing only a few minutes ago. "We could have saved him."

Kenji shook his head. "No, we couldn't have. Besides, you're more important," he said as he glanced slightly at his friend. A tear slithered out of her eye, and he hastened his pace to find a suitable room that wasn't overflowing with corpses. As he proceeded down the hallway, he came across a door marked "STAIRWELL."

Grumbling, he muttered, "More like stairway to hell, my ash-covered-ass."

Despite her sadness, she once again managed to smile. For him, she pushed open the door to the same stairwell that they had dashed up only minutes before.

"Thanks, Hospital Gown Princess," he said with a wink.

"No problem, Chief Asshole," she replied with a friendly punch to the shoulder.

Glancing up, Kenji noticed the stairway had been decimated. There'd be no going upwards for either of them anytime soon. He decided to meander into the basement instead.

Sharing a precious moment of silence before being rocked by another explosion, effectively making Kenji lose his balance, Haruka grabbed the railing to steady both of them. With a grin that spoke words of thanks, Kenji continued down the stairway.

Stairway to hell, as he described it.

When they reached the cold, dank and gloomy basement, they glanced around. No corpses were down here, surprisingly. There were only faint trails of fresh blood that led to an elevator that would take you to the first floor.

Kenji's senses went on full alert. "Someone's down here with us," he muttered. He crept up to the elevator door, then sighed. "Or at least, was here with us." Haruka joined him in their brief sighing party.

He gently set her down against the wall, and he slunk down beside her. The cold, sterile, tiled wall pressed up against their backs, providing a sense of relief for their exhausted, overheated bodies.

Kenji groaned. "Ugh. You're heavy."

"And you're an asshole." _"Who's quite easily lovable," _her mind added.

Sitting in silence for a few minutes, Haruka slowly started to produce salty liquid from her visionary orifices. "Why'd Andrew have to go…"

Kenji looked over at his teary-eyed livelong friend. "I guess he wasn't strong enough…" he sadly added.

Her eyes widened, and she slapped him. His face melted into the same sense of shock that possessed hers. "Why the absolute fuck would you say something like that, Kenji? That's not you at all!" Her eyes reflected shock, fear, and grief.

Keeping his head locked in place from where Haruka slapped it, he guiltily replied, "Haruka. I know it's insensitive and cruel, but so is the world. The ones who can't outlast the onslaught known as life aren't strong enough to be called the living…" he sadly stated. His eyes sincerely reflected the emotion he felt, and Haruka noticed it. Knowing that he felt the same emotion as her, she felt a little guilty for immediately slapping him. He continued.

"… I also thought Andrew was strong enough to survive. I thought he'd be running alongside us now," he said as his voice quivered. "But shouldn't that say something? We aren't weak, Haru-chan," he comfortingly said as he referred to her as the name he had all the years they had spent growing up together. "For Andrew's sake, we should be strong. Strong enough to survive this, and strong enough to tell future generations about the magnitude of this situation. Isn't that what he would wanted? For us to live and prosper? Yes. We can't succumb to weakness. We'll honor his last wish and live, all right?" His mind clenched a mental fist. Kenji remembered Andrew's true dying words to protect Haruka. _"I will, Andrew. I will protect her and honor you, buddy." _

Kenji slowly wrapped an arm around Haruka, and let his body support her as they both cried for their good friend. Their tender moment was interrupted as rapid footsteps were heard from the stairwell. He silently scooped up Haruka and slid behind a corner, ready to defend her with the Seiun-Shinrai Arts that had been extensively passed through his family for multiple generations.

"This is the Kadavo Special Response Unit. Are there any survivors down here?"

Kenji poked his eye around the corner. Recognizing their dark-grey uniforms, he shouted in reply, "Down here! I have a paralyzed victim with me…!"

Before the soldiers reached them. The two of them realized the massive effect the earlier events had on their bodies. Instinctively, they peacefully passed out, leaving the soldiers to carry two limp-but-alive bodies out of the hospital.

Through a magnifying monocle, a stylish figure with a long, white lab coat examined the duo being carried away by the Kadavo Military. He laughed aloud, despite the carnage that had just taken place in the ravaged city of New Haven.

"Ah, what elegance! What grace! What… disturbing brutality," he said to absolutely no one. "This is the pinnacle of style," the figure sang. Focusing once again on the masculine being, the figure stroked its long, luscious hair to cover his left eye. He clicked his tongue. "Oh, oh, what's this? A speck of dust to soil my lab coat?" He sighed. The scientist pulled out a small pair of tweezers from his pocket and plucked the dust from the long, draping lab coat. "Ah, that will suffice."

Returning to his original thought about the young man being carried away by the military, he stroked his chin while nodding his head. "Yes, yes, my boy. I see great things coming from you," he stated.

"We will meet someday, my young friend. I know it."

A shadowy being crept up behind the man. "Sir, your appointment is due to occur in a few minutes," it said.

"Ah, yes… _that _meeting. Be sure to prepare the spare lab coat, as this meeting may prove to become slightly… er, distasteful for my desires. Well then, shall we be off?" With a flick of his lab coat and a gust of wind, the scientist and his assistant vanished without a trace.**  
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><p><strong>Authors Note: sword-art-offline.<strong>

**This concludes our second chapter of this story, with a new character being revealed and some mysteries that have to be solved. But not to worry they will be revealed as time passes and our characters go through the course of the war.**

**Author's Note: The Slain Executioner:**

**Hello there. I'm full-time editor, and idea-submitter for sao-offline. I actually gave him the idea of "The Scientist" and played a drastic role in changing this story. Did you notice a shift in the writing style? Yeah. That'd be me taking over. :P Anyway, I'm the muscle, and the skin for this story. He's the bones; the story's backbone. I'm just the detail-hasher and whatnot. For this chapter, we actually met in person to discuss it. (After all, we're IRL friends) All I can say is, I hope you enjoy the story we're creating and join us on our adventure. :) The Slain Executioner, exploding out. (Due to large amounts of explosions.) Oh. If you like Akame ga Kill!, I urge you to check out my fic. Otherwise, I'll get out of your hair.**


	4. The Wheels of Destiny

**Hello and welcome to another chapter of my original work TRH, this work is the child of light novels/manga/anime/western books/ideas/brainstorming/my imagination/scifi/action-adventure/and my ****fellow author The Slain Executioner (Who's work you should check out)**

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><p><strong>Tales of Reluctant Heroes<strong>

_Though Darkness May Fall, Let the Illusion of Light Guide Your Path..._

**Chapter 3: **_As the analogs of history are added to and expanded, the history of humanity is by far one the most intriguing._

After the surprise attack made by the government of Rizal, the country of Kadavo was sent into a state of panic and the differences between the public and the government was soon forgotten and set aside due to the more prominent issues at hand. As the Rizalion military continued their onslaught, leaving no one and nothing standing, the Kadavo government organized a retaliation force to prevent the land of theirs from being completely purged. Although Kadavo had begun to strike back, a very critical key factor came into play: the Rizalion military possessed higher-class weaponry then what Kadavo had at its disposal. Eventually, the war of retaliation became survival of the fittest.

Curious thing, human beings. When a human is pushed to its physical limitations and survival is near-impossible, it will continue to fight for the right of existence. This was the case with Kadavo against the Rizalion forces, as they were pushed back into where they were deployed and subsequently eradicated in the process, before Rizal moved onto its next unfortunate victim. Shortly after the surprise attack executed by Rizal, the government of Kadavo moved its citizens into underground shelters to protect them from the onslaught happening on the surface.

While a good chunk of the public went along with what the government was declaring, those akin to Kenji and Haruka put up a passively resisting fight before eventually complying with what they had ordered in the first place. Those who had decided to not obey remained on the surface and for most that was the last anybody heard of them. As the situation above ground worsened, the increasing matter that anyone above was eradicated and then burned out of existence was becoming a prominently known fact.

The Kadavian military continued to struggle against Rizalion's overwhelming force, but the fact remained that if help wasn't found, the very existence of Kadavo being assimilated into the territory of Rizal and the harsh truth was like a blow to the stomach.

When Kenji awoke and found that his wounds had been treated and his childhood friend also receiving the same amount of medical attention, he spent the next few weeks watching over his friends' continued improving health, which was the exact opposite of what was happening above.

Now, even though the situation looked grim on the surface the government of Kadavo had decided that all the news would be censored in the hopes of keeping the moral of the public high in spirit and strong.

Kenji, being the person he was, questioned if things on the surface were as grim as the rumors that were flying about amongst the crowds. He was not the first, nor would he be the last that had this occurring thought. As time went on, this became a subject of controversy among the populace, especially those who had a bit of hot blood still running in their veins.

But the window of peace was soon to be shattered when the tremors stemming from explosions could be felt by populace of faculty number #2 and their worst fears had started to materialize. The silence had now been permeated with tension and unease.

Kenji was walking down a hallway on his way to check in on his childhood friend who had been recovering at a good rate. When a massive explosion shook the ground, Kenji looked up at the dust that had dislodged itself from the ceiling and was now floating to settle on the ground.

"_Hmm... I think we have a problem here. Guess I'll talk to Mark and see what should be done." _Kenji thought for a split-second before continuing on his journey.

He poked his head around the corner to find his friend reading a rather boringly-covered book.

"What are you doing, you lazy ass?"

"Reading this ever-so-interesting ero-novel that I discovered residing underneath your cot. It's pretty interesting how you're into whips, chains, and bondage," she said with a devilish grin.

"Eh…?" _"Mark, that bastard. He put that there knowing that Haruka would find it," _he thought.

"Wait, how the hell did you get there, cripple?"

She glanced at the crutches leaning against the wall, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh." _"Leave it to Mark to go all-out for a prank," _he mumbled inside his mind.

"Kenji's Taxi Service," Haruka chirped in a sing-song tone. "Would you be as kind to deliver this parcel for me? Thanks," she said as she tossed him the book. "You wouldn't dare to think a _cripple _like me would go all the way over there to return it," she stated.

"Ugh, fine." Kenji took the book and walked out of the room, leaving behind a giggling Haruka.

He sighed as he was making his way down the hallway. Suddenly, he got the notion that the female populace was eyeing him intently. He shifted to hide the book more effectively.

When he reached Mark and his room, he walked in to find Mark frantically searching for something. "Kenji, have you seen my gray research book, by any chance?"

Using a sixth sense, Kenji smirked. "You mean the one that opens with bikinis and palm trees?"

"Yeah! I mean, no! It's about… uh, how the culture has advanced so greatly in the past decade!? Mark stuttered.

"Yeah. Sure. So how far have the chains developed, Mr. Fetish?" Kenji sarcastically asked.

"Uh… the metal's toughness has been increased by 69.69%?" Mark said, completely out of excuses. His shoulders slumped.

"Well, here's your research," Kenji laughed as he threw the book at Mark, who caught it.

Wishing for a change of subject, Mark asked, "What did you think of that explosion, Kenj?"

Noticing Mark's topic change, Kenji took the hint and replied accordingly. "Not sure. Maybe they found the entrance to the facility."

"Well, don't you recall how well it was hidden? No one could have located it unless they knew where it was… unless we have a worm," Mark said with a serious tone in his voice.

Kenji thought about the idea of having someone from inside the faculty leaking intel to the enemy about where they were located. Add to the fact that according to the government, there were three main shelter facilities in the country of Kadavo, and finding them would be harmful if they were found by the enemy. Still the chances of more facilities being out there was not much of a stretch.

"Even if there was a worm inside this facility, it's not like we can do anything about it. If the person was smart they would cover their tracks so that they wouldn't be discovered," Kenji said as he replied to Mark's question.

"Still who in the world would want to kill civilians? It doesn't really make sense."

Kenji grinned. "Well... the nation of Rizal is one place on this world that I know would want to kill us."

Mark frowned. "Shut up!" Kenji laughed before he turned to leave the room.

"You coming?" He said over his shoulder.

"Where?" Mark said with a curious tone.

"Well, aren't you curious what that explosion was?" Mark shrugged before smoothly putting his book under his cot and followed Kenji out.

As they both were walking down a sterile, light-grey metal hallway another explosion was felt by both of them, except this explosion went off in the hallway that was horizontal to the one they were in. Needless to say, it only took a couple of seconds before Rizalion soldiers stepped through the hole they blasted.

"Shit!" Mark whispered. But even that was loud enough for one of the enemy soldiers to pick up.

"Over there!" The soldier yelled before raising his weapon and firing at the duo. The assault rifles made a sound that did not resemble the standardized military weapon.

"Mother fucker!" One of them yelled. The need to be quiet was now not an issue.

They both took off running down the hallway that they had just come down, except now the walls where being painted with the stain of bullets and the whistling of deaths' call.

"Why didn't they attack from the main entrance?" Kenji said as they both finally out-ran there pursuer's. Mark looked at him with a dumbfounded look.

"Does it really matter? They are here and attacking." Mark said with an out-of-breath voice.

Kenji immediately started to formulate a plan to get every he knew to safety, unfortunately that thought was cut short when the ominous sound of footsteps could be heard coming down the hallway. Both of the boys looked at each other and they both knew that if it came down to it, they would go down swinging. They crouched down, ready to jump on the group of people approaching them. But just as they were about to spring, the group of people were actually fellow dorm members that Kenji had gotten to know over the last few weeks.

"Damn, I almost hit you man." Mark said, as he stood up from crouching.

This act itself made everyone in the group jump from what he did.

"The hell is wrong with you?" One of the girls said with a shaky voice. Mark grinned before shrugging his shoulders.

"Putting that aside, do you know what is currently happening?" Kenji asked one of the boys.

"No we just heard explosions and came to investigate the source of these sounds." Kenji frowned.

"Well Mark and I just found out what those sounds were, and they were attached to the tip of a bullet from a weapon." Kenji said with a serious tone.

"What do you mean by that? Did one of the security officers find a reason to take a pot-shot at you guys?" One of the guys in the group said with an amused voice. It was obvious he didn't believe what Kenji had just said.

"What I am saying is that when Mark and I went to find out about these sounds we met Rizalion soldiers blasting through a wall and subsequently attack us when we were spotted." By the looks on everyone's face, they either were shocked by the news or had a look of doubt still plastering their features.

"Seriously cut the crap, what the hell is going on?" Now, Kenji's statement may or may not have been accepted by everyone, but the fact remained that something had happened.

"Exactly what I just said, and if you don't believe me, then you're taking your life into your own hands." Kenji then motioned for Mark to follow him.

"We need to warn the others and I have to get to Haruka." Mark gave an affirmative nod before giving the group of older teenagers a quick hand wave.

But both of them didn't walk more than a dozen feet before a group of Rizalion soldiers rounded the corner and spotted everybody standing out in the opening.

(Sphatz-sphatz-sphatz) The Rizalion soldiers opened fire on them, and six of the group found themselves missing anything from a head to a hole in there chest. Needless to say they were killed immediately.

"Fuckinshit!" One of the guys yelled as he started to run in the opposite direction. Everyone else immediately followed his lead and started to run.

"Ahahaha! Yeah that's right, run your little shits!" One of Rizalion soldiers yelled as he sprayed the corridor with a hail of bullets.

Everyone was running for their lives and it was every person for themselves. As they were retreating, one of the girls tripped and took a hard fall onto the ground. Kenji slightly slowed down to put his hand on her shoulder and yank her up.

She looked at him and smiled. "Than-guh!" Before she could complete her statement, a round pierced her throat and tore out her vocal chords, which splattered against the wall as the bullet made its exit.

Kenji's grip loosened as he was now holding onto a body that had its mouth in a silent scream and that would also never be among the living again.

'_Shit that must have hurt.'_ Kenji thought as he gently let go of the body and continued on running with the rest of the group.

Before long it was obvious that if they didn't do something soon, most of them would not be able to run anymore because of their poor stamina.

"Hey look it's the cafeteria, let's go there!" Mark who was at the front of the group said. Everyone listened to what he said and followed his lead.

Once they got inside, they were witness to overturned tables and chairs that were strewn about. But something that Kenji noticed was that there were no bodies on the floor, except a couple of blood trails that lead into the hallway.

"What the hell happened in here?" One of the girls asked.

Her answer was not given a reply before they all had to scatter to avoid detection by the incoming Rizalion soldiers.

The room was dead silent other than the sound of the enemies' footsteps, Kenji remained completely still and watched one of the soldiers step right next to his hand. He quietly moved his hand, and it was just in time, the soldier continued walking and would have stepped on his hand had he not moved it.

When the danger seemed to have passed and there was silence once again over the cafeteria, one of the girls slowly stood up from her hiding place and looked out to see if it was clear. Sadly she had stood up at the wrong time and standing in front of her was a Rizalion soldier with a smug grin plastered on his face, he quickly pulled out his combat knife and grabbed her by her arm before she could run away. Kenji seeing all of this cringed, he could get up and help her, but the danger of attracting more attention would be expanded. While he thought of this a horrific scene played out before his eyes, and anyone else who could see it.

The Rizalion soldier pulled the girl close to his body and whispered in her ear. "What a beautiful human specimen you are, my dear. Too bad... it will be such a waste." He then stuck his knife into her left calf and turned his knife to the right sharply, resulting in the blade becoming one with the girl's muscles and bodily fluids for a brief moment before he pulled out. He laughed. This was no ordinary laugh. This was a laugh of a man whose psyche had been destroyed long ago and nothing but empty craziness remained. His eyes gleamed with a murderous intent, causing the girl to tremble even more. Without warning, he raised his arm and stabbed up and down; up and down; up and down on her chest. Blood flew from her chest and mouth each time he penetrated her skin with the killing tool. Before long, the girl's chest became so deformed that very few areas of her rib cage and vertebrae were visible. She gagged on her own blood, but managed to shoot a desperate glare filled with fear and pleading towards Kenji.

"Hel-" the girl's voice was cut off with her body spiraling into shock.

Kenji clenched his fist before starting to stand up from his hiding place.

But he was beaten to the punch, when one of the guys from the group stood up and charged at the soldier. "Let go of Carrie! You sick bastard!" The young man ran at his target with only his will and fists as weapons. Those unfortunately would not be enough, because when the Rizalion soldier saw someone charging at him, he pulled out his knife from the girl and threw it with deadly accuracy at the boy, lodging itself in his throat with a wet _thap_ mixed with a last scream of pain.

The young man tripped over his feet and slid the rest of the distance, until he stopped right in front of his assailants' feet. He weakly struggled to push himself of the ground, but the Rizalion soldier didn't want that and kicked the boy onto his back before then smashing his left foot on the young mans' face, crushing it with a sickening crunch. This was the catalyst for Kenji to take action and he stood up from his hiding place to face this atrocity.

"Ah another one of you damn bugs to crush." The Rizalion soldier shrugged his shoulders before taking his sidearm from its holster and pointing it at Kenji.

Kenji's mind raced with how to deal with this new situation. _'Guess I should have thought about this a bit before.'_

The soldier then turned his weapon to the girl still in his grasp and whispered. "Sweet dreams bitch." He then shot the girl point blank in the head, making parts of her skull and brain splatter about the ground.

"No!" Kenji said with one of his hands outstretched.

The soldier who was now covered in the blood of his victim turned his attention to Kenji.

"Alright let's see what you got." He holstered his sidearm, fully confident in his hand-to-hand combat skills. Kenji face turned into a grimace before putting his arms and body into a fighting stance.

Both of the men slowly circled each other, neither one of them making a move, other than observing their opponent. Although the facial expression on both where as different as night and day. Kenji's face was that of grim determination, while the Rizalion's soldier's was a sadistic grin with crazed eyes.

"What's the matter? Too scared to face me? You coward." The soldier taunted Kenji with his words. But something that both Mark and he learned during training, was never to rush into a situation without a plan, especially against an opponent that you didn't know.

'_Well fuck me, I'm going to get an earful from Haruka about this, when Mark opens his pie hole_ _and blabs about what's happening now.' _This thought did manage to put a small grin on Kenji's face, which was not unnoticed by the Rizalion.

"Ah, finally getting the balls to fight me?" Kenji didn't answer with words, he answered in

action, when he charged with his arms in an offensive position. The Rizalion's grin widened.

When Kenji was only a few feet away from striking his opponent, he put one of his feet on a chair that was still sitting up right. And kicked off it, sending his body into the air.

'_The chances of him hitting me with one of his legs is lower when I am at this height, his only viable option is to counter with his arms.' _Kenji's mind was racing with different thought of what could go wrong, but at the base of it all, he knew what he had to do.

As gravity took immediate hold of his body, he started to fall at the Rizalion soldier. Time seemed to slow down and everything around Kenji seemed to fade away until all that remained was his target. He brought his right leg back and his left leg he straightened. When his left leg was blocked by the Rizalion and pushed aside, this brought his other leg into the ideal place to counter attack. And counter he did, when his foot made contact with the chest of his enemy, his opponent stumbled backwards from the blow.

When Kenji was taught the Seiun-Shinrai Arts by his family, one of the first things he learned, was that most opponents can block one move to counter with one of their own, but if you had two moves combined into one, the chances of your opponent being unguarded for that split second gave the means for your second move to hit its target successfully. This is what defined and made Seiun-Shinrai an effective way of fighting when mastered.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion, but in reality all of it took place in the span of a few moments.

Kenji landed on his feet lightly before looking at his opponent who had recovered from the blow.

"You fucker!" The Rizalion yelled before charging at Kenji with his own flurry of attacks aiming to kill the little son of bitch. But Kenji was ready for him and blocked all of his moves, and when the opening presented itself, Kenji ducked down and swung his leg out which tripped the soldier and made him fall to the ground. Kenji sticking to his training, didn't waste any time and moved in for the kill. He brought his left arm back and then as he quickly kneeled, brought his arm down with the palm of his hand facing out.

"Heart Stopper!" He yelled as his palm landed on his opponent's chest where the heart was located. The force of the hit did two things, the first being: when the heart was struck with enough force it stopped with the impact of the blow. The second would be that Kenji in his rage actually managed to break the man's rib which punctured the enemy's heart. This effectively incapacitated his enemy to continue fighting.

Kenji stood up and looked down to see the Rizalion soldier grinning. "You demon." He said before his eyes rolled up into his head.

'_Demon? Am I really a demon for killing someone?' _Kenji realized what he had just done and looked down to see his hands shaking. "I-I actually killed a man." Kenji felt a hand on his shoulder, and saw that his friend Mark giving him a serious expression. "You did the right thing." Mark simply said. Kenji nodded before looking down at the three bodies lying on the floor.

"Mark go grab that table cloth over there." Kenji pointed at a table near them. Mark nodded before letting go of Kenji's shoulder. Kenji slipped the jacket he was wearing off, and gently set it over the body of the girl that had been brutally murdered. "I am sorry." He said quietly to the corpse. Mark came back and put the cloth over the body of the young man.

Kenji turned to the rest of the group. "I know this event was terrible, but we have to get out of here before anyone comes to check out the commotion we just made."

One of the girls let out a quite sob. "She was my best friend." Kenji felt sorry for the girl and then he noticed something on the ground. It was a picture of the girl that was just killed and the girl who was now sobbing in front of him. He walked over to the crying young woman, and gently set the picture into her hand. When she saw what it was, she let out even more tears.

"Come on let's go." Mark signaled for the group to follow him. As everyone followed his lead, Kenji stopped to remove the Rizalion's sidearm and refill clips, he also grabbed a grenade hanging on the soldier's belt. Before standing up and following every else out.

The group of people tried to stay as quiet as possible to not raise the attention of any enemy soldiers, but as they got closer to the dorms the sounds of gunfire and screaming could be heard. And as Kenji tilted his head around a corner he saw a Rizalion facing with his back to him. Kenji turned around and signaled the group to wait, he then slowly crept up behind the soldier before wrapping one of his arms around the soldier's neck. There was a small struggle but Kenji was successful in choking and knocking out the enemy.

He then went back to the group and signaled that the coast was clear. Everyone then made their way into the dorm complex to find the bodies of both Kadavian and Rizalion soldiers strewn about the floor.

"Everyone go grab what you absolutely need, and meet up at the secondary hallway in ten minutes." The group then split up and went their separate ways.

"Alright I am going to go get Haruka, you go back to our room and grab what we need." Mark grinned. "Okay I will grab what I need." He then started to walk away before Kenji stopped him. "Seriously dude leave the research material alone." Mark raised an eyebrow. "Like hell, what are you thinking?" Kenji shook his head before heading for Haruka's room.

When he arrived at her room, he breathed a sound of relief when he saw that there were no signs of any combat in the area. He walked into the room to find no one inside, but seeing a crutch still leaning against the wall put his worries to rest. "Haruka you in here? It's Kenji." A slight rustling was heard behind the bed, and it a second later when Haruka slowly raised her head from where she was hiding.

"Kenji! You're okay." She said with obvious relief in her voice. Kenji smiled before walking over and helping her up from behind the bed. "Hey I delivered the parcel like you asked, and came back to offer my taxi services." Kenji said with a sarcastic tone.

Haruka smiled at what he said. But then her face went serious. "Kenji what happened?"

He sighed. "We are being attacked by Rizalion soldiers, I came to get you out of here, were leaving this place."

Haruka's eyes widened a bit. "Oh no, is every okay?"

Kenji shook his head. She put a hand to her mouth. "Those poor people." Before either one of them could say another word gunfire could be heard coming from the hallway. Kenji whipped his head to the sound and cursed. He turned to Haruka. "Stay here." He then handed her the sidearm that he had taken from the Rizalion soldier that he had fought in the cafeteria. "I hope you don't have to use this, but you know how to handle one." He then handed her the spare magazine clip before turning around and sticking his head out the door.

Kenji pulled out a weapon that was taken off from one of the Kadavian soldiers. And as soon he did, a friendly soldier came running around the corner shooting at the attackers that where behind him. When he saw Kenji standing there with a gun he briefly thought of shooting but noticed the symbol on Kenji's shirt was Kadavian and he lowered his gun.

"Hey kid what are you doing? You have to get out of here." The Kadavian said with a panicked voice. But before Kenji could reply, Rizalion soldiers rounded the corner and opened fire on the two.

"Shit!" The Kadavian soldier raised his gun and opened fire. Kenji quickly followed suit and raised his weapon. The issue of killing was outweighed by the need to protect Haruka who was taking shelter in the room behind him.

Kenji aimed down the sight of his assault rifle and seeing an enemy in his crosshairs, pulled the trigger of the gun.

(Krak!) The bullet exited the barrel of the gun and hit the enemy soldier right in the forehead, making it explode from the impact. Kenji was not given the luxury of appreciating his shot before having to open fire on the other Rizalion soldiers.

Kenji and the Kadavian soldier kept the enemy at bay, but a shot made it past their defenses and struck the Kadavian soldier right in the gut, leaving a gaping hole. Kenji grimaced at the sight.

'_I can't stay here, the position is compromised.' _He slid over to grab the ammo belt off the corpse before dashing back to the room where Haruka was. Although this time he had to deal with a girl pointing a pistol at him.

"Sheesh, stop pointing that at me." Kenji said with a slightly teasing tone. Haruka lowered the gun with a slightly embarrassed expression.

Time was not a luxury that was given to them, because the Rizalion soldiers rounded to corner an opened fire on Kenji.

"Stang!" Kenji raised his rifle and returned fire. The firefight lasted for what seemed like hours, but the situation looked grim when Kenji locked and loaded his last magazine, and the enemy soldiers seemed just as many, if not more, than when the fight started.

Kenji looked over at Haruka and smiled. She smiled back knowing that this was probably the end for both of them. But she felt at peace knowing that he did his best to protect her.

'_Kenji if we survive this I will tell you how I feel.' _Haruka thought wistfully.

'_If I can get us out alive I will tell you my feelings.' _Kenji thought as he looked at his childhood friend.

Kenji leaned out from where he was taking shelter and let off a couple of rounds before hiding and avoiding the bullets that were sent in return.

25 rounds where left and he intended for each of them to count.

_17-I will get us out of here!_

_12-I will not die not die without the light of the sun on my face._

_5-Well I'm screwed._

Kenji fired off his last round before ducking back into cover.

(Ping!) Cah-ching.

Kenji heard the sound of a grenade being primed and then rolled on the ground. He rolled out into the hallway and saw the grenade heading right for him. He ran up and without stopping grabbed the grenade before throwing it back at his assailants. When the grenade went off, the blast threw him back against a wall which was enough to stun him and put him in a daze.

He looked up from his position to see a Rizalion soldier enter into the room of his childhood friend._ 'No don't hurt her!'_ Kenji started to crawl back in a desperate bid to save his love.

But the numbers were not on their side and after Haruka had gone through the first pistol clip and almost through the second. A Rizalion soldier rounded the corner and shot Haruka in the chest three times.

"NOO!" Kenji grabbed a pistol from a fallen enemy and aimed it at the one who dared shoot his friend. But he was too slow, he heard the sound of pistol and then the Rizalion soldier falling over.

He gave a pained sigh before slowly getting on his feet and stumbling over to his bloody comrade.

"Haruka!" He saw that she was bleeding profusely and that the chances of her surviving was impossible. "No, stay with me!" He grabbed her body and held her close.

"K-Kenji don't hug me so tight, you'll hurt me." Haruka said with a pained voice. Kenji loosened his grip but that didn't stop the hot tears that threatened to fall, to stream down his face.

"Haruka don't leave me, I can't do it without you." Haruka smiled before putting her hand on his cheek.

"Kenji I want you to listen to what I have to say." Kenji looked at her bloody, but still beautiful face. "There are some things in this world that are worth killing for, when the one's you love are in danger, don't hesitate to take action." Haruka grimaced and tears started to flow from her eyes. "Whatever you do, just remember that when you feel like you are going to slip, don't fall into the darkness, or it will consume you." She gave a pained smile.

"No Haruka! Hang in there, come one you can do it!" Kenji was getting frantic, but it didn't matter what he said. Haruka closed her eyes and her breathing slowly came to a stop.

"Haruka?" He felt for a pulse, but did not find one. "Haru-chan don't leave me." He gently set her body down on the ground. "I'm sorry, I tried my best to protect you, I didn't even get the chance to tell you how I feel." Kenji bent down and with quivering lips gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead.

The sound of more enemy soldiers could be heard from the hallway. And Kenji wanted revenge.

He slowly stood up from his kneeling position and seeing the last soldier that Haruka killed equipped with a sword, bent down and grabbed it in his bloody hands. He walked out of the room and made his way in the direction of the soldiers.

"Over there!"

"Open fire!"

"W-what the hell!"

"Gah! Fall back!"

"What's wrong with this boy?!" The sounds of screaming could be heard coming from the hallway.

As Kenji was going on a purge, a thing went unnoticed by anyone. The soldier that had been killed by Haruka slowly stood up and the image of a typical Rizalion soldier disappeared to reveal a stylish figure wearing a lab coat.

"Well getting shot like that was so unfashionable." The scientist then poked his head out of the room. "He even took my sword. I had just polished it with a brand new formula of mine." Right then from the hallway that Kenji was fighting in, a heart splattered against the wall.

The scientist then shrugged. "Then again what's the use of polishing a weapon without testing how well the formula works?" The scientist smiled. "He seems to be busy, I guess I will leave him to my devices, besides." He turning around and looked at the body of Haruka. "I have more pressing issues at hand." The scientist walked over to where Haruka lay.

As the scientist was observing what was happening outside of the room, Kenji felt nothing but rage and blood lust to those who were responsible for killing his childhood friend. And even though all he had was a sword, he was managing to slaughter any Rizalion that tried to stop him. Something to note though was the sword he was carrying was not your average sword, for one swords were not used in battle, they were for more ceremonial purposes than fighting, and this sword seemed to have blue and purple veins coursing through the blade. Kenji would take notice of this after he regained control of his mind. But right at the moment the nature of the sword was not important as long as it got the job done.

After brutally killing every Rizalion soldier in the hallway, Kenji's vision started to return and he glanced about at the carnage he made. "Heh serves you right, you bastards." He then lifted the blade in front of him and looked at it. "What a peculiar weapon, I wonder why that soldier had it?" Kenji heard someone coming around the corner and he raised the sword ready to strike.

"Holy mother fucker! What the shit happened here?" The person in question was none other Mark returning from their dorm room. He looked at Kenji covered in blood. "Did you do this?"

Kenji looked at Mark and said in a dull tone. "They killed Haruka, I wasn't strong enough to protect her." Mark lowered his head. He didn't really know Haruka that well, but he knew that she was a kind person and that the package wasn't so bad either.

"I'm sorry for your lose man. I really am but we have to go." Kenji looked at his friend with eyes filled with pain.

"Okay just let me say goodbye to her, please." Mark understood and gestured for Kenji to go.

"Thank you." Kenji turned around but an explosion went off in the hallway and debris blocked the path to Haruka's room. "What? No!" Kenji pounded his fist against the thing that now separated him from his childhood friend. He was about to raise his fist again, but then lowered it.

"Fuck me, come on Mark there's no way we can get through this, let's go rendezvous with the others."

"We can find another way to get back to her room." Mark said, but Kenji shook his head.

"I would like nothing more than to, but we don't have the time, I wish we did though." Kenji would have to mourn later, the situation at hand was more concerning.

"Alright, if you say so then I'll show you where everyone is." Mark then started to do a fast pace away from where Kenji was standing.

Kenji quickly followed right behind his roommate, and in a few minutes they linked up with the survivors. Kenji noticed that only about half of the original group remained.

"Where is everyone else?" He already knew the answer, but asked anyway.

"Their dead." One of the guys in the group said simply.

By now most the people were armed with some sort of weapon and Kenji was already forming a plan in his head. But that was all put on hold when the overhead lights went out.

"Huh what the fuck just happened?" Someone in the group said.

Kenji turned on the flashlight that he was carrying. Everyone else who had flashlights followed suit. "I don't know, but I believe that the enemy cut the power to this faculty." Kenji then gestured for the group to follow him.

Everyone stuck close together, with those who were unarmed in the middle of the group. And they stayed like that for a while, and when a group of Rizalion soldiers passed by they would turn off their lights and wait for them to pass by. But as they were walking to the nearest surface exit, Kenji stumbled upon a group of soldiers with marks not made by humans.

"What the hell happened to these guys?" Kenji bent down and noticed that these marks looked a lot like a mark from an animal.

"Hey who just spit on me?" A guy said touching the back of his neck.

"Uh no one spit on you." A girl said with a scared voice.

"Then what did I feel?" He turned his flashlight to look above and saw two gleaming eyes looking down at him. "What the Fu…" His head was ripped from his body before he could finish his sentence. A girl screamed seeing his headless body be crushed by a terrifying beast that dropped from the ceiling. Kenji raised his gun to his shoulder and aimed.

They had some new company to deal with.

* * *

><p><strong>And that concludes this chapter. Apologizes for grammar errors I am in need of a editorbeta so the work could be better.**

**If you have a character that you would like featured in this story, pm me a brief description of how they look like and there character. **

**(Warning) The chances of them dying is out there, I have a list of people I came up with who are going to die, so your character may last to the end if they fit into the story.**

_**Ending Song: Yurusanai by vvotaro.**_


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